An integrated circuit (IC) is formed by creating one or more devices (e.g., circuit components) on a semiconductor substrate using a fabrication process. As fabrication processes and materials improve, semiconductor device geometries have continued to decrease in size since such devices were first introduced several decades ago. For example, current fabrication processes are producing devices having geometry sizes (e.g., the smallest component (or line) that may be created using the process) of 90 nm and below.
Many IC fabrication processes use a mask to transfer a particular pattern (e.g., a portion of a circuit) to a wafer in order to produce a semiconductor device, with each mask being unique to the particular pattern. The making of such masks has become increasingly complex as the geometry size of the devices produced using the masks is reduced. Current mask-making techniques are not sufficient to efficiently and cost-effectively produce high-quality masks needed for modern IC device fabrication.